Mighty Germans Stunned By Hardworking Croatians

A game that many Croatians will not forget.

The mighty Germans were stunned by the hardworking Croatians 2-1. Prior to the match, Germany was regarded as comfortable favorites against Croatia. And from the recent Group B matches, it seemed that Germany had too much quality not to win against Croatia, who had failed to impress during their narrow 1-0 victory over Austria. Despite scoring in the early stages of the match against Austria via a penalty, Croatia had not impress many and, in fact, frightened a few Croatia supporters with their heart-stopping defending. Austria had seemed close to scoring in a number of occasions, yet, Croatia held firm to deny Austria from getting a point out of the game, which they deserved. On the contrary, Germany had impressed in their 2-0 victory over Poland and made many believe that they could very well be this year's Euro 2008 winner. The Germans looked dangerous whenever they got the ball and they just seemed unbeatable.

Yet, Croatia were able to get away with a result that they must be delighted with. This seemed the first time in ages that Germany's defense was so deeply threatened and Croatia must be given credit for their much-deserved victory. Their passing seemed precise and such a joy to behold, especially in Germany's side of the field, and they closed down on their opponents quickly and efficiently. Ironically, their impressive display reminded me of Germany in their win against Poland; The opposing team's players didn't seem able to travel far with the ball before they find players surrounding them.

Perhaps, Germany were getting complacent and they underestimated Croatia. But after conceding the opening goal, the Germans never really seemed to get going and they began to get anxious and edgy as the match progressed. Even after a half-time talk with their coach, Joachim Löw, the Germans never seemed to be able to overturn the match, even after their late rally which resulted in a consolation goal by Podolski. This match did certainly remind me that Football is unpredictable and that no team is invincible. It would be interesting to see how Germany pick themselves up after this shocking loss. But in the meantime, I'm be rooting for the Netherlands in their match against France tomorrow morning. I wonder if France have some tricks up their sleeves against the Netherlands, considering their poor 0-0 draw against Romania...